Many computers and computer servers are designed to receive removable disk drives. Typically, a front face of the computer or computer server will have one or more apertures which allow disk drives to be inserted into and removed from the computer.
In a typical configuration, a mounting assembly located inside the computer or computer server is designed to receive the removable disk drives. The mounting assembly will include a backplane with a plurality of connectors. Corresponding connectors located on the rear face of the disk drives are designed to engage the connectors on the backplane of the mounting assembly. When a disk drive is inserted into the mounting assembly, the connectors on the rear face of the disk drive engage and connect to the connectors on the backplane of the mounting assembly. The connectors provide power and data connections between the computer and the disk drive.
Many disk drives are capable of being switched into a “read only” or “write protect” mode, in which data can only be read from the disk drive. It is sometimes desirable to switch a disk drive into the write protect mode to ensure that the data stored on the disk drive is not written over or deleted.
Many disk drives include a plurality of jumper pins located on the rear face of the disk drive. One can place a jumper on two of the jumper pins to electrically connect the two jumper pins. And by electrically connecting two jumper pins, one can custom configure the disk drive in various ways. Often, disk drives will allow a user to electrically connect two jumper pins to switch the disk drive into a write protect mode. If the two jumper pins are not electrically connected, the disk drive will be in a write enable mode, where one can delete information from the drive, or write new data to the drive.
Because the jumper pins are typically located on the rear face of a disk drive, in order to change between the write protect mode and the write enable mode, it is usually necessary to remove the disk drive from a computer or computer server in order to make the change. At a minimum, one must gain access to the rear of the disk drive in order to mount a jumper on the jumper pins or to remove a jumper from the jumper pins.